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Introduction: Medical education research is gaining recognition as scholarship within academic medical centers. This survey was conducted at a medium-sized academic medical center in the United States. The purpose of the study was to learn faculty interest in research in medical education, so assets could be used to develop educational scholarship further. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to survey faculty activity and interest in medical education research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM). Results: Overall response rate was 31% (263 out of 855) of faculty. Over half (60%) indicated interest in education research with 18% of the respondents currently involved in education research. If faculty were aware that education scholarship can lead to advancement, they were more likely to be involved in conducting such research ( p less than 0.01). A total of 22% did not understand what was meant by education research and 17% had no interest in education research. Discussion: Interest in medical education research and scholarship is evident at WFUSM. Experience in conducting education research and understanding of the nature of this type of research have not yet been fully developed. There appears to be a core set of faculty interested in conducting education research who may serve as a resource for faculty development in future medical education scholarship. (Contains 3 tables.)

Medical education has been shown to negatively influence student attitudes toward certain types of patient populations. Past research does not inform current educational practice because today's medical school environment is different from when most of the published research was conducted. There are more female students, curricular innovations such as problem-based learning have changed the framework for educational delivery, and longitudinal studies, which could inform when interventions may be needed, are uncommon. The purposes of this longitudinal, prospective cohort study were to compare the attitudes of Problem-based learning and Traditional curriculum students toward providing care for medically indigent patients as they progressed through the four-year undergraduate medical education curriculum, and to determine if gender differences were apparent and persisted over time. Attitudes of one cohort of students enrolled in separate curricula were studied. The outcome measure was the Medical Student Attitudes Toward the Underserved questionnaire, which was administered three times. A linear mixed effects regression analysis was performed to examine changes in factor scores over time and whether these changes differed between Problem-based and Traditional students, and males and females. Longitudinal findings revealed that commitment to caring for the medically underserved was greater when students entered medical school than when they graduated. Students in both curricula, as well as male and female students, experienced increasingly negative attitudes over the four year period. Decline in attitudes toward medically underserved patients was similar to previous research results. This study showed that attitudes of students were not influenced by the preclinical curriculum they experienced.

Summarizes the current practice of cultural competency training within medical education and describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a theoretically based, year-long cultural competency training course for second-year students at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. (EV)

Discusses advantages and disadvantages of interviews as a continuing-education needs-assessment technique. Reviews such elements as design of the interview plan, mechanics of interviews, interpersonal aspects, and data collection and management. (SK)

Six-month case studies of five physicians who attended an arrhythmia conference found that changes in their job performance were (1) incremental (70 percent), which usually required learning; (2) structural (17 percent), requiring redirections of life or practice; and (3) accommodational (13 percent), resulting from regulations. (SK)

The traditional lecture format is not the best way to teach medical students how to help patients stop smoking, according to researchers who analyzed 13 studies. Patient-centered counseling, standardized patient instructors, role playing, and a combination of these methods are more effective.

A study investigated when medical students are at greatest risk of academic failure and which cognitive or noncognitive factors place them at risk. Subjects were 658 medical students matriculating at Wake Forest University (North Carolina) over five years. Results suggest the majority of academic delays occur in the first two years. Specific noncognitive factors were associated with academic difficulty. (MSE)

Results of a study of mandatory continuing education (MCE) programs at a large teaching hospital indicated that mandating the programs had an adverse effect on participants' perceived outcomes and their likelihood of voluntarily attending programs in the future. (JOW)